That I may know You

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord.

Primary Text

“O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? [says the Lord] O Judah, what shall I do with you? For your [wavering] love and kindness are like the night mist or like the dew that goes early away. Therefore have I hewn down and smitten them by means of the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; My judgments [pronounced upon them by you prophets] are like the light that goes forth. For I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings.” v4-6 (AMP)

Prior to this verse, Hosea 6v3 (TLB) says “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him, and He will respond to us as surely as the coming of dawn or the rain of early spring.’” God wants us to know Him – to acknowledge Him, to be mindful of Him, to understand Him, be acquainted with and recognize Him. Synonyms for acknowledge include – recognize, accept, admit, concede, grant, reply, answer, respond, and react. These words signify that God had approached you before, He has initiated contact – let us now acknowledge Him. He wants us to be zealous about knowing Him – take our wanting and desire for knowing the Lord to a higher level, where you don’t only recognize, understand and acknowledge Him, but you also appreciate, give heed to and cherish Him. He wants our love, not our sacrifice, our knowledge of Him, not our burnt offerings. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3v7-12 (TLB) “But all these things that I once thought very worthwhile – now I’ve thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ, and become one with Him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God’s laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith – counting on Christ alone. Now I have given up everything else – I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with Him. So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead. I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be.”

Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your Word this day. I desire desperately to know You more. Help me o God in Jesus name, amen.